The Meth House Discount: How Long Can The Stigma Last?
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What does the science say about health risks of houses where meth was only smoked?
Hello and welcome along to the Proper Academy Podcast by Ubus Partners. I'm your host, Evan Knight, I'm
Jim Nicole.
And this is the show that helps Kiwis go from zero to five investment properties so you could be financially free and stick around for the next 15 minutes because you're gonna learn is a meth house tainted forever with the stigma of illegal drugs, what the science says about whether meth houses sell for less money forever, and the meth house that couldn't sell, and the one that made $200,000. Now, a list of the show email. Failed and with a bit of a problem. She's currently looking at a house at to buy as an investment property where meth was smoked but not cooked, right? So it wasn't a meth lab. It's now had a full clean, the carpets, the curtains, that's been stripped out. It now tests at a habitable level.
You can rent it out. But it's a small community. It's a small town.
A pretty big bold term to use for someone smoking methane there, aren't they?
Well that's just what people do. It's a meth house, Andrew. That's what the that's what the community is saying. But here's your kicker. It's on the limb. So even if somebody coming in new to the town doesn't know, oh yeah, that's where You can stitch up old Steve that's just new to the town. Yeah, or Josephine is new to the town because when they go and request the council documents, they're gonna see that there was previously meth contamination. And so what this list of the show is asking is if she goes in and buys this property, even if it's all cleaned, does the stigma go away or is it forever a meth house? Now what does the science say?
Basically if the house has been cleaned and the testing shows at habitable levels, which is less than fifteen microgramps per one hundred square centimeters, then it's safe to live in. Now you'll remember that back in twenty eighteen, the Prime Minister's chief science advisor, Sir Peter Gluckman, was advised to look into meth contamination, which had become like quite a big thing at this stage, and his findings kind of were a bit of a bombshell, because at the first It was the first time where a line in the sand was distinguished between houses where meath was made, like produced, which is pretty serious, versus someone's just smoked some meth. And Glutton found no evidence of health risks in meth-smoked places.
So a house like the one we're talking about, there's no health issues, so doesn't actually matter.
Well that's all well and good, right?
Why does a meth‑smoked property stay on the LIM forever and how is it recorded?
But that doesn't help it if there's a stigma and if it stays on the council docks forever and then people don't want to pay more for your house because it's a meth house. So I mean if it gets put on the limb, the council documents, does it stay on there forever or once you clean it that comes off? So it does stay.
Stay on there forever. At this stage. Unless there's a change to the legislation, that is on the limb from now when you own the property, but also for anyone you sell it to in the future. And that's even if the remedial work has been completed. So the paperwork, it's gonna outlive the issue. And Gluckman specifically said that there's an unnecessary stigma now of contamination. Because if it's on the limb report and we consider that there's little or no action. Actual risk.
What's the matter? Why does someone need to know that? Well, it gives somebody to uh somebody something to bring up or worry about when they're buying the house, right? And that's where I wanted to know how does it even get on the limb? Like, how does the council know meth was smoked there? Let's tap, tap, tap on the council documents. Now the truth of the matter is it only appears on the council docs if the police have been involved. Why would the police be involved for someone smoking it to a level where they report it to the council? Well, let's say your neighbours are complaining because at 2 a.m. the neighbours going absolute mental. Call up the police, go in there. They find out that they were smoking meth, because we've got a whole heap of meth pipes littered about.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What does the science say about health risks of houses where meth was only smoked?
0:08–2:40
2
Why does a meth‑smoked property stay on the LIM forever and how is it recorded?
2:40–4:34
3
How do council documents and police involvement trigger a LIM listing?
4:34–6:35
4
What did Dr. Michael Rehm explain about the rarity of LIM entries for meth‑smoked homes?
6:35–8:06
5
How much discount do meth‑contaminated homes typically sell for compared to clean properties?
8:06–9:28
6
What can we learn from the Frankton meth‑smoked house that sold for $200 k above valuation?
9:28–11:07
7
What are the hidden costs of remediation – insurance, vacancy loss, and time on market?
11:07–13:00
8
Should buyers still expect a discount on a fully remediated, safe‑tested meth house?
13:00–14:52
Speakers
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